Shipping earnings rose 9 percent in 2014
Despite the country’s financial woes, the Greek economy’s foreign currency revenues from shipping activities expanded 9.04 percent last year from 2013, reaching 13.18 billion euros, according to the annual report of the Association of Greek Shipowners (EEE).
The 2014-15 report further highlighted that in 2014 – the only year in the last seven when the Greek economy posted growth – shipping directly or indirectly provided employment to 192,000 people on- and offshore. It also underscored that the sector’s entrepreneurs last year started paying a voluntary levy to the state amounting to 420 million euros per annum, while since 2013 there has been a Greek tax on ships’ capacity, imposed also on foreign-flagged vessels managed by offices based in Greece.
“We have submitted to the state our desire and vision to contribute as a national strategic and productive pillar to the growth project that the country requires. However, we should not forget that, just like every investment in a context of fierce international competition, shipping needs a stable legislative framework, legal certainty and investment security,” noted the head of the association, Theodoros Veniamis.
The Greek-owned fleet had shown a significant increase in capacity at the end of 2014 but a drop in terms of ship numbers. It accounted for 3,885 ships (of at least 1,000 gross tonnage), with a capacity of 284.77 million deadweight tons, or 17 percent of the global capacity. The Greek register had 798 ships, being the second biggest in the European Union and the seventh largest in the world.
Greek shipowners controlled 26.49 percent of the global oil tanker fleet capacity and 18.8 percent of the world’s total capacity in dry-bulk carriers.
